Thorpe admitted to rehab for depression: report

Five-time Olympic gold medalist Australia's Ian Thorpe speaks during the news conference for the Doha Gathering of All Leaders In Sport (GOALS) forum in Doha December 10, 2012.

Reuters/Fadi Al-Assaad

Australian swimming great Ian Thorpe has been admitted to rehab after suffering from depression, local media said on Monday.

Police were called after Thorpe was found disoriented and behaving oddly near a vehicle and the 31-year-old was later taken to Bankstown hospital on Monday.

"He is in rehab for depression," Thorpe's manager James Erskine told the Australian Associated Press. "The owner of the car basically called the police and the police came.

"They realized it was Ian Thorpe. They realized he was disoriented."

The five-times Olympic champion, who made his Games debut as a teenager in Sydney in 2000, retired in 2006 citing waning motivation and made a comeback early in 2011 but failed to make the Australian team for London.

Erskine said Thorpe was taking anti-depressants and medication for a shoulder injury but was not under the influence of alcohol.